The Impact of Families' Socioeconomic Status on Different Levels of Early Language Development

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 8
  In Poster Session: Early Childhood Outcomes

Abstract

A full body of research reported early emergence of disparities in language from 3-year old children onwards. Our previous findings showed that 2-year old children are already affected in their vocabulary skills by both maternal education and income thresholds. In this contribution, we examine, if the impact of socioeconomic background differs according to children’s vocabulary level. Using data of 2,331 children from the German National Educational Panel Study and applying methods of quantile regression, we find that 2-year old children with and without migration background are affected differently by the socioeconomic status according to their language level. Moreover, our findings indicate, that home learning environment (e.g., picture book reading) shows a positive impact on all levels of early language development.

Authors

• Claudia Karwath, Otto Friedrich University Bamberg

• Gwendolin J. Blossfeld, University of Bamberg